A couple of days ago I had never heard of the Basque fishing town of Hondarribia. Padma and I needed a place to hang out for a few days near Biarritz, which is in French Basque country. But Biarritz is too posh and expensive for simple folks like us.

So I brought up the map in booking.com and searched for places still available during this busy August holiday season. I got lots of availability in Spain’s San Sebastian but that’s kind of a party place on the beach.

I scanned the map and looked for some interesting geographical areas and saw a marker for a hotel in Spain at the mouth of the Bidasoa River, right on the French border. Interesting geography. I clicked the link and it showed a hotel which had been converted from a castle in the heart of the old town of Hondarribia. A few clicks later we had a room booked for the next two nights.

We’ve enjoyed exploring this old Basque town and driving along the coast and hiking to beaches. Sometimes it pays just to run your finger over a map and take a chance at whatever comes up.